ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — On Friday, Holiday Valley in Ellicottville opened for the 2024-25 season, welcoming back skiers and snowboarders.
With four lifts open at 9 a.m., winter sports lovers were ready.
Other skiers traveled several hours to come to hit the slopes.
"We woke up early this morning at six o'clock, drove right here, got here at 8:50," said Kieran Necakov-Waller. "We were pretty pumped to hit the slopes."
Skiers and snowboarders from other states, including Pennsylvania and Virginia, even made the trek for opening day, choosing Western New York over their local ski hills.
"It's colder, has more snow because it's colder here, so it's just better conditions," said Jackson Luke, who drove from Virginia to ski.
Holiday Valley is thankful for the snow, looking ahead to next week with slightly warmer temperatures isn't a worry for them yet.
"We'll see what happens, the weather changes constantly, and hopefully, it doesn't warm up too much, but I think we're off to a fantastic start," said Dash Hegeman, Director of Marketing for Holiday Valley.
In the meantime, skiers and snowboarders are happy to be back.
"Conditions are perfect; I'm a little nervous to give you this interview in fear of more people coming and making it crowded because it's that nice," said Rich Miller.
You can keep up with the conditions here.
